Prong | |
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 Prong performing live atWacken Open Air 2017. L–R: Tommy Victor, Art Cruz and Jason Christopher. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Works | Discography |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | prongmusic |
Prong is an Americanheavy metal band formed in New York City in 1986. The band is fronted by guitarist/vocalistTommy Victor, Prong's sole constant member. To date,they have released 13 studio albums (including a covers album), one live album, four EPs, one DVD and one remix album.
Prong had two independent releases,Primitive Origins (1987) andForce Fed (1988), which attracted the attention ofEpic Records, who signed the band in 1989. Their first two albums on Epic,Beg to Differ (1990) andProve You Wrong (1991), were released to critical acclaim and garnered attention onMTV'sHeadbangers Ball.[1] The band's 1994 albumCleansing was also successful,[2] and included their best-known song, "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck". After releasing one more album (Rude Awakening in 1996), Prong disbanded in 1997, but reformed in 2002 and has continued to tour and record since then.
The band was founded in 1986 by singer/guitaristTommy Victor (then a sound engineer for the New York City music clubCBGB) and bassist Mike Kirkland (doorman at CBGB), who recruited ex-Swans drummerTed Parsons shortly after.[3][1] Prong independently released an EP,Primitive Origins (1987), and a studio album,Force Fed (1988), both of which were noted for their very raw sound.[1]
Prong signed withEpic Records in 1989.[3] Their major label debut album,Beg to Differ, was released in 1990.
In the following year, Kirkland left the band and was replaced by bassistTroy Gregory.[1] Prong issued their fourth release,Prove You Wrong,[4] which saw the band experiment with programming and electronic samples while still retaining an aggressive yet melodic sensibility.
By 1993, Troy Gregory was out of the band and was replaced byPaul Raven and John Bechdel, both fromKilling Joke andMurder, Inc.[4] The new line-up releasedCleansing (Prong's fifth major release) in 1994.[4] With a slightindustrial metal influence,Cleansing contained songs that are still considered Prong classics ("Broken Peace" and "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck") and is Prong's most successful release to date. The videos for these two songs became staples ofMTV'sHeadbangers Ball.[5] The band toured America withSepultura andPantera as an opener for their respectiveChaos A.D. andFar Beyond Driven tours. They also undertook a headlining European tour withLife of Agony andThe Obsessed as their support.[citation needed]
Prong's 5th albumRude Awakening was released in 1996.[4] It entered the charts at No. 107[6] and sold 10,000 units in the United States in its first week.[7] Despite the good sales, Epic Records released the band from their contract three weeks after the album's release.[5] Shortly thereafter, Raven left prior to a tour supportingType O Negative and was replaced byRob "Blasko" Nicholson.Mike Riggs later joined on guitar so Victor could focus more on vocals. This line-up later disbanded, with Victor joiningDanzig as their guitar player,[5] and Ted Parsons joiningGodflesh. Parsons also played with Jesu and toured withPaul Raven inKilling Joke.
In 2002, Victor reformed Prong with bassistBrian Perry (Dirty Looks,Jake E. Lee), drummer Dan Laudo and guitaristMonte Pittman (Madonna). In 2002, after a 42-date American tour that was recorded for a live CD (100% Live, Locomotive Music) Prong entered the studio and recorded their first studio album in seven years,Scorpio Rising (2003), which was received with mixed responses.
Victor played on and off again withGlenn Danzig from 1998 to 2005 in between time with Prong. His final goal of playing and writing on a Danzig record was met withCircle of Snakes in 2004.
Prong released a live two-disc DVD in 2005 entitledThe Vault which features performances from the Hulstsfred andWith Full Force festivals and a full show in Amsterdam. This disc has Brian Perry and Mike Longworth on bass as Longworth replaced Perry after his departure in 2003. Dan Laudo left the band in 2005 and the band enlistedAaron Rossi, who used to be in the bandsStrife (Victory Records),Shelter (Century Media Records),John 5 (Shrapnel Records), andAnkla (Bieler Bros. Records)
Victor and Rossi joinedMinistry in 2005 to write and tour in support of their 2006 albumRio Grande Blood. The two also appear on Ministry's follow-up albumThe Last Sucker (2007), although in a more limited capacity.
In 2007, Prong signed toAl Jourgensen's13th Planet Records, who releasedPower of the Damager on October 2, 2007. The band embarked on the "Slicing Across America" and "Slicing Across Europe" tours supporting the album in 2007 and early 2008. Joining Tommy Victor for the tour wereMonte Pittman and drummerAaron Rossi; bassist Paul Raven had died of a heart attack in his sleep on October 20, 2007, at the age of 46.[8]
Rossi joinedMinistry as their new drummer on the "C U LaTour" which started in March 2008.
Alexei Rodriguez and Tony Campos fromStatic-X were on the lineup with Tommy supporting Soulfly on the "Blood Fire War Hate" tour in the fall of 2009. They were replaced by Jason Christopher (bass) in 2011[9][10][11] andArt Cruz (drums) in 2012.
The band supportedFear Factory on their tour which ended on June 6, 2010. Prong released a new album,Carved into Stone, on April 23, 2012, with LongBranch Records/SPV. It was produced by Steve Evetts. The band toured as a headliner and with acts such asCrowbar in the US, and in May 2012 performedBeg to Differ in its entirety during a two-week tour in Europe.[12][13]
In the summer of 2013, the band performed an extensive European festival and headline run and also recorded a self-released "Official Bootleg" entitledUnleashed in the West – Live in Berlin viaBandcamp.com.[14]
After spending November and December 2013 in the studio, Prong released their ninth album,Ruining Lives, onSteamhammer/SPV in April 2014 and toured extensively in its support.Blabbermouth.net called the album "Tommy Victor's personal liberation."[15] The album was produced by Victor and mixed bySteve Evetts.
The band started a second wave of touring behindRuining Lives in July 2014, with European festivals and headline shows. They also toured in North America, both as headliners and as support toOverkill, followed by a tour in Europe as main support to Overkill in October and November.[16][17]
In 2015, the band released the cover albumSongs from the Black Hole, followed a year later by their eleventh studio albumX – No Absolutes. Another album,Zero Days, was released in 2017.[18] In 2017, at the beginning of August, they played a concert in Polish Woodstock Festival. Prong's next release was the EPAge of Defiance, released on November 29, 2019.[19]
The band's thirteenth studio album,State of Emergency, was released on October 6, 2023.[20]
Prong has been described asgroove metal,[21][22][23]industrial metal,[24][25] andthrash metal,[26][1] while their early work has been characterized ascrossover thrash.[27][23] Emerging from theNew York hardcore scene,[26] they, along with bands such asPantera,Sepultura andMachine Head, are one of the bands of the groove metal movement of the 1990s.[21] Prong has cited several bands as influences, includingRush,[20][28]Bad Brains,Killing Joke,[29][30]Discharge,[29]Celtic Frost,Voivod,Kreator,Destruction,[30]Metallica,[31]Warzone, theCro-Mags,[32]Die Kreuzen,[33] andthe Sisters of Mercy.[6]
They have influenced many notable musicians such asKorn'sJonathan Davis,Demon Hunter'sRyan Clark andNine Inch Nails'Trent Reznor,[34][35] as well as bands such asPantera andWhite Zombie.[36]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Tommy Victor | 1986–present |
| all releases |
 | Christopher Dean | 2023–present |
| none |
 | Tyler Bogliole | drums |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Parsons | 1986–1996 |
| all releases fromPrimitive Origins (1987) toRude Awakening (1996) | |
| Mike Kirkland | 1986–1991 |
| all releases fromPrimitive Origins (1987) toLive at CBGB's (1990) | |
 | Troy Gregory | 1991–1993 |
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| Paul Raven | 1993–1996(died 2007) | bass |
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 | John Bechdel | 1993–1995(session 1992) |
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 | Charlie Clouser | 1995–1996 | Rude Awakening (1996) | |
| Mike Riggs | 1996–1997 | guitars | none | |
.jpg) | Rob "Blasko" Nicholson | 1996 | bass | |
 | Frank Cavanagh | 1997 | ||
.png) | John Tempesta | drums | ||
| Dan Laudo | 2002–2005 |
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| Brian Perry | 2002–2003 | bass |
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 | Monte Pittman | 2002–2009 |
| all releases from100% Live (2002) toPower of the Damn Mixxxer (2009) |
| Mike Longworth |
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| Zero Days (2017) | |
 | Aaron Rossi |
| drums |
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 | Tony Campos | 2009–2012 |
| Carved into Stone (2012) |
 | Alexei Rodriguez | 2009–2013 |
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 | Art Cruz | 2014–2018 | drums |
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| Griffin McCarthy | 2022–2023 | State of Emergency (2023) | ||
 | Jason Christopher |
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| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Bishara | 1994 | keyboards | Bishara briefly toured with the band.[37] | |
| Vince Dennis | 1996 | bass | Dennis covered for Paul Raven when the bassist injured himself.[38][39] | |
 | Matthew Brunson | 2012 | Brunson and Pybus covered for Tony Campos who was touring withSoulfly.[40] | |
 | Dave Pybus | |||
| Fred Ziomek | 2019–2020 |
| Ziomek toured with the band in 2019 and 2020.[41][42] | |
 | Jason Bittner | 2023(European tour) | drums | Bittner covered for Griffin McCarthy who had other commitments in 2023.[43] |
Starting out in theNew York City hard-core scene, Prong was a basic thrash metal band withhard-core overtones.
For example,Discharge was a really big influence on us back in the day, alsoBad Brains andKilling Joke.
[W]e were intoCeltic Frost andVoivod andKreator andDestruction, and then mixed that withthe Bad Brains – who were a huge influence on us – and thenKilling Joke, and all that combined so it made Prong different.
During the tour, bassist Paul Raven was injured and could not continue to perform with the band in 1996. He was temporarily replaced by World of Pain bass player Vince Dennis until he could return.
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